Been here a couple of weeks now. It's a little different this year as it usually is. Haven't chilled any past years to try it against yet. But I don't like to let them sit around more than 3-4 years max as that hop edge just goes away.

Bigfoot just showed up at my local grocery late last week. The liquor store across the street already had some, but they wanted $11.49 a sixer, so I passed and waited for the grocery store to get their delivery. I've turned the store manager and one of the butchers at the store into beer geeks, BTW. Now they're drinking craft beer instead of BMC. The butcher is particularly fond of DFH 60 Minute IPA and SNCA.

I, too like Bigfoot fresh, but I also like to see how it ages. The 1998 still tastes fabulous, even if the aggressive hop characteristic has faded some. I only have one or two bottles each of the ones from the early 1990's, and am keeping them more for sentimental value.

davidw, I love Dirty John's Grocery. I wear my Dirty John's PBR T-shirt all the time. Say hello to Doug Alberhasky next time you're in there. (I doubt if he'll remember me). One time we stopped in to buy beer to take back to Indiana, Doug spent over an hour with us, showing us the nooks and crannies, and telling us great stories about the history of the store. Turns out he like to come to Indianapolis for Indycar and NASCAR races out at the Speedway.

This was IMHO the very best Sierra Nevada Barley wine I have had yet. Very well balanced, and not as "in your face Hopppy" as other years that I have tasted. I am not a beer judge - so I go strictly by my own taste test, but this was outstanding. For the record "normally I do not like as big beer as a barley wine."

Question for the group. They had "Old Foghorn" by Anchor at $13.99 a sixer. I didn't buy it but for those more knowledgeable about Barley wines "How does it compare?"

Two friends and myself did a tasting of '08 '09 '10 & '11 tonight. The older, the better was the consensus, especially with the two of them, who like less hoppy beers. I thought this yrs' was less hop flavorful and less hop aroma than other years.

Paul, I think you would be doing the HBD community a big favor by doing a vertical tasting of each of your SN Bigfoot's, and reporting your impressions here. Since people's moods can alter their perceptions (even taste perceptions) and moods can change from day to day, I recommend that you do the vertical tasting of your entire collection all in the same day. Now, I know that sometimes beer judges taste just a little of each beer for their evaluations, but I think in this case that would be wrong. A barley wine is (to use Michael Jackson's expression) a "thoughtful" beer. The only way to thoughtfully evaluate these beers would be to enjoy a full 12 oz. of each, before reaching for the next. I know there may be time constraints when sampling a selection as large as yours, but you need to sample these beers the way one would with no time constraints, in order to properly evaluate them. I recommend 5 minutes per bottle. This is not a small amount of beer to be drinking at one time, to be sure, so a good base of food should be layed down (or is that laid down? My teacher always found me asleep during english class). On the other hand, these are rather heavy beers, so you can't eat too much beforehand lest you risk discomfort. Perhaps a saltine cracker before you begin. Have a glass of water when you're through, to prevent dehydration, and then arise early the next morning and write up your evaluations for posting to this forum. We will be anxiously awaiting to hear your report

Paul has 14 years of Bigfoot. To think that even three or four people could consume all of them in one sitting and retain any sense of judgment is beyond comprehension. I had friends who hosted an annual "strong beer dinner" toward the end of the year. They would serve a six-course meal accompanied by about a dozen beers, all 8 percent ABV or more. A number of us would buy or donate the beers from our own cellars. Anywhere from 10 to 15 people would attend. Arrangements were made for taxi rides home, and guests from out of town were put up for the night. I have to tell you that the end of the affair was usually in a fog.

The glasses were filled with about 2-3 ounces of each beer, but the accumulated alcohol intake, say, 30 oz. at an average of 9 percent ABV, certainly had its way with the brain, even when accompanied by a lot of food.

Our club has a competition for members for big beers every winter. This was the 17th year. It's called the "Heavy Hydrometer" because the traveling trophy is a plaque with a hydrometer on it that goes to 1.200 (the hydrometer came out of a lab where a member worked). I've been fortunate to win the trophy a few times in the past.

This past Saturday, we had 15 entries. On the light end we had 3 Baltic Porters, on the heavy end, we had 5 Russian Imperial Stouts. In between we a had a couple of old ales, an English Barleywine and a few American Barleywines.

Since I didn't have an entry this year, I was one of the judges. We did it as a Best of Show, rather than scoring each beer. Let me tell you, after those 15 beers, I needed a rest!

All 15 beers were very good, but we settled on one of the American BW's as the winner I think a RIS came in second and a Baltic Porter was third

Afterward we did do a mini vertical with some Bigfoot (2000, 2001, 2006, 2009, and 2010) that people had brought to the meeting. We thought the 2006 had aged the best.

I agree with Tim in that this years seems more subdued in hop charcater (in a good way) and rounded. The stinging bitterness of years past is absent. Great malt profile, but still with more than ample hopping. Delicious!